Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!

The Santa Beard and Wig’s The Thing! 

Paraphrase from the William Shakespeare line, ‘the play’s the thing’.

Santa beards and wigs range from the department store Santa who might have spent several months in growing his own, to something you’d be ashamed to wear to an adult office Christmas party.

If it doesn’t fool a four-year-old, then it’s a bad Santa wig and beard set.  It may look fake to you, but it’s got to look good to a child. 

Discounting the quality of hair, Santa wigs are Santa wigs; and about the only difference in them might be bangs or no bangs, and perhaps in the hair styling itself.  We used a ‘marcell’ style creating a wavy look similar to the ladies hairstyles of the 1920’s.  The beard, too, was ‘marcelled’.

Most Santa sets have an accompanying beard and attached mustache; but sometimes the mustache is a separate piece that needs to be attached with spirit gum.  Lose the mustache though, and replacing it to match the beard might be a challenge. 

The wig (hair) might be affixed to a cloth headpiece, or the hair might be embedded into a headpiece made of netting.  The netting allows more air flow and might be more comfortable, but both work if they fit properly.

Beards (hair) are similar but use only a chin strap (cloth or netting) to attach the hair to.  The cloth needs to be washable, without the possibility of shrinking.  Flannel or any shrinkable chin straps or wig bases would be a poor choice.

 Oh. The hair itself, you ask?  There are human hair wig & beard sets on the market, as well as yak hair (made from the hair of a yak) and as long as the fit is good they are usually a smart purchase.  The fit might be dependent upon where they were manufactured.  A Chinese large head size might be comparable to an American small head size.  And with the proliferation of defective Asian products these past few years, caveat emptor in general.

Synthetic sets (nylon, Orlon, etc.) are available as well, and some are good and some are not so good.  It’s always best to try on the products if that is an option. 

Then there are those wig and beard sets that look like cotton.  Some are mohair, and some are also synthetic.  One they become soiled, they are not washable nor cleanable.  These are the type that usually accompanies a new Santa suit.  My primary objection to them is they won’t pass the ‘four-year-old’ test.

The ability to wash, clean, and restyle the wig on an ongoing, year-to-year basis is another consideration.  The hair might look good, but if the skull cap (base) loses its shape in a washing, you will be buying another set next year. 

Don’t…Don’t…Don’t…throw wigs and beards into a washing machine or dryer.  Never! Never! Never! 

The care and cleaning of a Santa beard and wig set will be a subject for another day.

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